There are plants, the care of which is extremely simple, and the flowering is surprisingly beautiful. These include the spirea shrub, better known as the meadowsweet. While gardeners admire the ornamental plant, breeders are breeding more and more interesting varieties of hardy shrubs.
Origin
Spirea (Spiraea), aka meadowsweet, belongs to the family Rosaceae (rosaceae) and is a decorative shrub. The plant is distinguished by the flexibility of the stems, for which it received its name - "speira" in translation from ancient Greek means "bend". The genus includes about a hundred species of spirea, growing in forest-steppe, steppe zones and even in semi-deserts. No wonder the meadowsweet is considered a very unpretentious plant.
Spiraea in bloom
The name "meadowsweet" in antiquity was much more widespread than spirea. Under this name, the bush is mentioned in the epic "Sadko" and in the works of V.I. Dahl, who reported that the stems of the plant, due to their strength, are used to make ramrods and whips.
The spirea shrub has another name - the bride. By it is meant varieties with white flowers. The same plant has variants of the names "spray bush" and "spray bush".
The appearance of the plant
External features of the spirea bush depend on the specific species. For example, the height of the stems varies from 15 cm to 2.5 m. The stalks of the meadowsweet can be either erect or creeping, from light to dark brown. The bark can peel off longitudinally.
The root system is fibrous, usually located shallow.
The leaves are petiolate spirea, regularly located, three, - or five-lobed. The shape of the plates is lanceolate or round.
Inflorescences are spike-like, corymbose, pyramidal or paniculate, consist of many small flowers. They are located, depending on the species, along the edges, in the middle or all along the branches. The color of flowers is from rich burgundy to pure white.
Note! As an ornamental plant, spirea is universal - it looks great both alone and as an element of hedges, flower beds.
Spring flowering spirea
Shrub species revealing their flowers in spring are very bushy. Inflorescences appear only on second-year branches. Petals of spring spire are distinguished by delicate colors. Gardeners love such varieties of meadowsweet for early flowering.
Spirea Wangutta
A hybrid obtained by crossing spirea of the Cantonese and three-lobed. It blooms at the very beginning of summer. Hemispherical inflorescences are located throughout the branch, they consist of small (about 6 mm) white flowers.
The shrub itself is quite high - up to 2 m. The branches are drooping, dotted with three-lobed, serrated bare leaves. The plates are dark green above, and the bluish below. In the fall they get a wonderful orange color.
Spirea Wangutta
For its delicate color and graceful curves, this plant is often called the "bush of the bride." However, this name also extends to other species and varieties of spirea that have white or light color flowers.
Oak-leaved spirea
A high (up to 2 m) variety of spirea, with gracefully curving branches, at the time of flowering strewn with white inflorescences.
This shrub is also called the bride, the plant fully justifies the national name, and not only with beauty, but also with splendor. Due to the sprawling branches, it requires quite a lot of space.
Oak leaf meadowsweet
Nippon Spiraea
Nippon, that is, Japanese, this spirea is called because of its place of origin - the island of Honshu. The shrub is quite high, up to 180 cm, dense branches are located horizontally. Green leaves, up to 4.5 cm long, do not change their color until late autumn.
Inflorescences are corymbose, dense, consist of greenish-yellow flowers, while unopened buds are pink in color. Nippon spirea blooms from the first days of June to mid-summer.
Nippon Spirea
Spirea Thunberg
This is an elegant shrub up to 1.8 m tall, with small dark green leaves, acquiring an orange-red color in the fall. Inflorescences are umbellate, located along the entire length of the branches. The flowers are small, snow-white, their shape resembles asterisks.
Meadow Thunberg
Spiraea angocarpus
A low shrub (about 1 m) with white flowers collected in corymbose inflorescences. The leaves are dark green, with three prominent veins. Flowering time is approximately 20 days. It is frost-resistant, tolerates shading well, but in sunny places gives more inflorescences.
Gorodskaya variety of the bride
Gray spirea
An interesting hybrid, the result of crossing St. John's wort and whitish-gray spirea. The height of the bush is about 180 cm. The branches are drooping, with greenish-gray (below bluish) lanceolate leaves. For their color, the gray spirea shrub got its name. It blooms from the second decade of May to mid-June.
Gray spirea
The flowers are bright white, collected in corymbose inflorescences, located along the entire length of the branches.
Summer-flowering Spirea
Spirea, which bloom in the summer, have one feature: the flowers appear on young shoots, the old ones dry out over time. Among the variety of species, Japanese spirea stands out, the varieties of which have gained particular popularity among gardeners.
Spirea loosestrife
Tall (up to 2 m) shrub with straight brown-brown shoots. The leaves are spiky, about 10 cm long. Panicle-shaped pyramidal inflorescences, up to 20 cm in length, consist of whitish or pink small flowers.
Meadowsweet
White-flowered Spirea
A fairly tall shrub (up to 1.5 m) with fragrant white flowers. Pleases with flowering from the middle of summer. One of the few species of summer-flowering spirea with white petals.
White-flowered bride
Japanese Spirea
Japanese spirea shrub has a height of 100 to 150 cm. Shoots appear pubescent, but, growing, become bare. The leaves are ovate, oblong, green on top and bluish from the inside. Scutellaria paniculata inflorescences are formed along the edges of branches and consist of small purple flowers.
Japanese spirea blooms, usually in July.
Japanese meadowsweet
Many confuse the name spirea, mistakenly calling it Chinese. It is worth remembering that the birthplace of this shrub is Japan.
Spirea Douglas
Shrub, up to one and a half meters, with red-brown shoots pubescent on top. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, from 3 to 10 cm in length. Douglas spirea inflorescences are paniculate-pyramidal, collected from dark pink flowers.
Spirea Douglas
The beauty of inflorescences can be enjoyed from June to mid-July to early August.
Spirea Bumalda
This is a miniature (about 50 cm) hybrid of the Japanese and white-flowered meadowsweet. The stems are erect, dotted with green leaves, in the fall acquiring a bright color. It blooms from July to the end of August.
Meadowsweet Bumalda
Petals can be colored from pale pink to red, depending on the variety.
Spirea Billard
Hybrid from the crossing of Douglas spirea and loosestrife. In height, it can reach 2 m. Leaf blades of a broad-lanceolate shape, about 10 cm long. Narrow pyramidal panicle inflorescences collected from bright pink flowers can reach a length of 20 cm.
Spirea Billard
Shrub blooms from the second half of July.
Transplanting into the ground after purchase
Spirea can be planted both in spring and in autumn, and in the springtime only summer-flowering varieties of shrubs are planted. It is very important to have time to land the bride before the buds bloom on the shoots.
When purchasing seedlings in a store, you need to inspect the roots and shoots. If they are strong enough and have no damage, you can safely plant a bush on the site.
In autumn, spirea is planted until the end of leaf fall. For planting, usually take bushes, which are 3-4 years old. They are optimally suited for division.
What is needed
For planting spirea you will need:
- Scissors for cutting excess roots;
- Shovel;
- Drainage (e.g. broken brick);
- Soil mixture;
- Water for irrigation;
- Peat;
- Secateurs.
Important! In autumn, you can plant both spring-flowering and summer-flowering spirea.
Optimal place
Despite the general unpretentiousness of the bush, it is advisable to choose a well-lit, spacious place for it with soil rich in nutrients.
If the choice is small, the meadowsweet can be planted on a rocky site, in partial shade at the fence, gate or next to other shrubs.
Worth remembering! The more spacious and lighter the plant, the more magnificent and longer it will bloom.
Landing process
Spring planting of the bush bride step by step:
- A pit is prepared at the site, the volume of which is about a third more than the volume of the root system of the seedling. It is advisable to do this a couple of days before the planned landing.
- Before planting, the seedling is placed in a bucket with a small amount of water.
- Drainage is laid at the bottom of the pit, with a layer of about 20 cm.
- Combine 2 parts of sheet land with 1 part of sand and 1 part of peat. Pour the resulting mixture to the bottom of the pit.
- Set a sapling in the hole, carefully spread the roots. Cover them with earth, gently tamping with your hands. The root neck should be flush with the surface of the soil.
- Pour the seedling with water (it will take 18-20 liters) and mulch the trunk circle with peat.
Landing in spring
Autumn planting of spirea in stages:
- Three - or a four-year bush to dig out of the ground.
- Wash the root system in running water.
- Using a secateurs, divide the bush into 3 parts.
- Prepare landing pits.
- Put drainage at the bottom, pour soil mixture.
- Plant plants, gently sprinkle roots with earth and tamp.
- Water the plantings abundantly.
Important! For planting, it is best to choose a cloudy day.
Propagation of Spirea
Spirea is best propagated by cuttings, since hybrid varieties do not retain their characteristics during seed propagation.
Cuttings
Spring-flowering plants are cut in early June, and summer-flowering in July. Rooting cuttings is best in September and October.
Cuttings of spirea:
- Cut the annual straight stem and cut it into pieces, so that 5-6 leaves are left on each.
- Remove the lower leaves with the cuttings, the upper ones - cut in half.
- Place the cuttings for 12 hours in a solution of Epin.
- Dip the lower node into the Kornevin solution and put the stem in a container with moistened sand so that it is inclined at an angle of 30-45 °.
- Cover the container with film or glass, remove to a dark place.
- Every day 2 times to spray from the spray gun, make sure that the sand remains wet.
After the onset of frost, the cuttings are instilled in the area, covered with leaves and an inverted box is placed on top. In this position, they are left until spring.
Seeds of the bush of the bride
When new shoots appear on the plants, you can transplant them to a permanent place.
Seeds
In the summer spirai, unopened, but already drying out seed boxes are collected from species sprays. Fruits are sent to ripen for a couple of weeks in a dry place (for example, in an open box).
After the specified time, the spilled seeds are collected and stored in a tissue bag until spring.
In April, the seeds are sown in a box with soil, sprayed from a spray bottle and, covered with glass, send the tank to the street. It is necessary to ensure that the earth does not dry out, but also there is no stagnation of moisture. When shoots appear, the glass can be removed.
Upon reaching a height of 2 cm, the seedlings dive, selecting the strongest, and planted in a box, at a distance of 5-6 cm from each other. In autumn they can be seated in permanent places.
Important! Spirea, obtained from seeds at home, begins to bloom as early as 3 years of growth.
Plant care
Photophilous spirea loves loose nutrient soils. Nevertheless, the plant is unpretentious in its care and does not show any special “vagaries”.
Watering
Water the shrub in the arid time once a week for 14 days, 1.5 buckets of water under the bush. In rainy weather, watering is reduced.
Top dressing
Spirea is fed with complex mineral fertilizer in the spring season. In summer, the bush is fertilized with a mullein solution with the addition of 10 g of superphosphate in a bucket of liquid.
Rest period
When the shrub fades and autumn comes, it's time to start pruning. Old bushes are cut, leaving hemp with 2-3 buds. On young shrubs, thickening the crown or diseased shoots is removed.
Plant pruning pattern
The soil at the roots is gently loosened, and if necessary, fertilized. Any composition other than nitrogen and mullein is suitable. The ground under the bush is abundantly watered with water.
Winter preparations
Spiraea roots can withstand cold well, so it can winter without shelter. However, if too severe frosts are expected, the plant is sprinkled with dry foliage for the winter, with a layer of up to 15-20 cm.
Spirea is a great choice for beginners, because this shrub does not require complicated care. But you can admire the flowering of this elegant plant for a long time. With reproduction and rooting, there will also be no problems, so spirea can be generously shared with neighbors.
